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what does this sign ” ~ ” mean on the guitar tabs?
i am just learning how to play and i dont know what these sings mean . ” h, p, x, b, p, *, *~, trem, etc. well i mean like, how do you play them. thank you ..
h – Hammer on. That means you play a note on a fret, )say a B, 7th fret E string), and then quickly with another finger, hammer it onto another fret, (for example, the C on the 8th fret)
p – Pull-off. The opposite of hammer on. Start with the higher note and pull your finger off the fret. You must have another finger on the lower fret for it work
x – I’ve seen this used incorrectly in so many tabs. It’s supposed to mean “dead note” or “scratched note” It’s a type of harmonic. To play this, hold your finger on the string, but NOT the fret, so that just the tip is touching the string. When you pluck the string, it will sound muted, hence a “dead” note,
b – Bend. Fairly easy. For example – G—14b– means play 14th fret G string and then bend the string.
* – The only place ive seen this is when it’s used to represent a repeating measure. You’ll normally see two pairs of them, one above the other, at each end of the section that you have to repeat. If the tab is written correctly, it will say x2 or x3 or whatever after the repeat symbol
~ – Ive seen this used for two different things. In some cases, it will mean “let ring”, which means play the note and keep holding it…hence letting it ring. When I write a tab, I use it to mean let ring. I’ve also seen it used to mean “vibrato”, which is when you play the note and then wobble your finger, producing a vibrating sound
trem – Tremolo picking, which is alternate picking really really fast. Hard to explain what that sounds like.
Some other symbols you might encounter are:
r – Which is used to mean “let ring” as well as “~” sometimes
/ or \ (or sometimes s, which is less common) – they mean slide up or down the string from one fret to another. Example:
E–4/6— means play 4th fret and then slide up to the 6th, E—6\4— means slide down. Sometimes, you might see this: E—4/— or E—/6— which means you slide to “nowhere”, there isnt a designated fret you have to slide to from.
Hope that helps!
